| Summary
One of the most densely populated countries in the world, Bangladesh has reduced poverty levels from 57% at the beginning of the 1990s to 40% in 2005. Economic growth rates have remained stable, averaging 5% per annum since 1990 largely due to the success of the export garment industry.
However Bangladesh could be doing better. It remains a low-income country with an average per capita income of $470, and about 64 million people who live on less than $1 a day. Of these, approximately 35 million are still extremely poor and 15 million live on the equivalent of 20 pence a day.
Bangladesh's potential is held back by its poor record on governance. Successive governments have been unresponsive to the needs of poor and marginalised communities. Instead, state power is used for personal and partisan ends and the accountability mechanisms of the political system do not function as they should. Corruption levels remain high. DFID has a number of programmes which seek to improve accountability, and to strengthen parliament and the civil service. These are important and must be seen as investments over 10 or more years.
One of the main mechanisms for holding governments to account is the presence of an effective parliament. We would like to see DFID more engaged in supporting the National Assembly—its members and committees—to help it scrutinise the executive more effectively. We have often said that parliamentary scrutiny is not given sufficient priority in DFID's country programmes. Its importance in Bangladesh is clear.
The failure of the government to provide adequate basic services has contributed to the development of a large, thriving and innovative non-governmental sector which has created novel ways of delivering services. Donors have increasingly channelled funding through non-governmental organisations (NGOs), while also trying to build up government capacity. In health and education DFID is funding both NGO and government systems and working to build links between the two. The Bangladeshi NGO BRAC provides an excellent example of the sector's pioneering and effective approach. DFID intends to begin a strategic relationship with BRAC and we support this type of innovation. However, we are concerned that weakness and corruption prevent the government from delivering effectively the services for which it has primary responsibility.
DFID's programme to deliver targeted assistance to the poorest households in the Chars islands of the Jumuna River is both innovative and successful. It has helped nearly 100,000 people by providing assets, training and support to increase the capacity of the poorest to raise themselves out of extreme poverty.
Despite advances in some areas, gender inequality continues to be a significant problem. Women remain largely marginalised in the home and excluded from key decision-making processes. Those in poor households are even worse off. DFID's approach to gender inequality is mainly focused on the social sectors such as education and health. While this has helped ensure the achievement of gender parity in primary education, it has not made sufficient progress in reducing maternal and neonatal mortality. Nor has it challenged the traditional role of women in Bangladesh. DFID should adopt a more focused and targeted approach which actively promotes women in positions of power. It should also apply gender targets for all its programmes, not just those in the social sectors.
The impact of climate change on Bangladesh is predicted to be significant. Large parts of the country are low-lying and susceptible to more frequent and intense floods and cyclones. While Bangladesh has robust disaster warning systems in place and good disaster management capacity, it will need assistance to cope with even small rises in sea levels and increased salinisation. It is also predicted that climate change could create 30 million migrants. Donors must provide adequate additional funding, earmarked for climate change, and not taken from already committed development assistance budgets. DFID Bangladesh should also begin to look at the regional impacts of climate change, including on shared water resources and migration trends.
Bangladesh hopes to become a middle-income country by 2021. The ability of successive governments to maintain a fairly stable macro-economic framework has allowed the private sector to develop and encouraged inward investments. However the ability of Bangladesh to progress further will remain in question unless it addresses the governance problems and the obstacles to growth which result. It must also ensure a wider distribution of national income to reduce poverty across society.
DFID must do more to engage with the Bangladesh diaspora living in the UK. They have significant capacity and a desire to contribute to the future prosperity of Bangladesh. The drive to reduce poverty in Bangladesh could be enhanced with their cooperation.
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